iGarden Swim Jet X Pro 10 评测：打造你的“无尽泳池”

Rating: 8/10 评分：8/10

TIRED (优点): 一种独特且有效的方式，能将小型游泳池变成真正的健身场所。设置和操作极其简单。电池续航充足（至少顶配版是这样）。孩子们玩起来也很开心！ TIRED (缺点): 哇，这东西太贵了。设备非常沉重且笨重；长期存放可能会是个问题。

I’m the first to admit that a swimming pool is a pretty frivolous thing to have, though it sure seems essential in the thick of sweltering Texas summers. Swimming pools arguably offer their greatest value, however, when used for exercise, as swimming is widely considered one of the best forms of cardio around. The catch is that lap swimming for exercise requires a far longer pool than most yards can accommodate, reducing the typical backyard pool to a place for kids to splash around in and for grown-ups to float idly with a beer in hand. 我首先承认，拥有一个游泳池是一件相当奢侈的事情，尽管在德克萨斯州酷热的夏天，它似乎又是必不可少的。然而，游泳池最大的价值在于健身，因为游泳被公认为最好的有氧运动之一。问题在于，为了健身而进行的往返游泳需要比大多数庭院所能容纳的更长的泳池，这使得典型的后院泳池沦为了孩子们戏水和成年人手拿啤酒悠闲漂浮的地方。

iGarden’s Swim Jet devices flip the script by creating an artificial current in the pool for you to swim against. Instead of requiring 164 feet or 50 meters of still water to paddle through, swimmers looking for a workout can instead swim in place, fighting the rushing water that creates the resistance needed to turn a small pool into an effective workout venue. iGarden 的 Swim Jet 设备通过在泳池中制造人工水流供你逆流而游，从而改变了这一现状。想要锻炼的游泳者不再需要 164 英尺（50 米）长的静水池，而是可以在原地游泳，通过对抗湍急的水流产生阻力，将小型泳池变成一个有效的健身场所。

Super Soaker (超级喷射器)

While enormous in size, the Swim Jet is a very simple device. The system comes in two pieces (and in two separate boxes), the larger being the 31-pound jet unit, a massive water pump that you lower into the water at the edge of the pool. The jet itself has no physical controls, but it can cycle a maximum of 1,100 gallons of water per minute through its intake-output system. It’s big and bulky enough that it has wheels on the bottom. The rubberized handle on top can be used to wheel it around the pool deck when it’s out of the water and does double-duty by holding the jet in place against the wall of the pool while it’s submerged. (The system works with both in-ground and above-ground pools.) 虽然体积巨大，但 Swim Jet 是一个非常简单的设备。该系统分为两部分（装在两个独立的盒子里），较大的是重 31 磅的喷射装置，这是一个巨大的水泵，你需要将其放入泳池边缘的水中。喷射器本身没有物理控制按钮，但它可以通过进出水系统每分钟循环最多 1,100 加仑的水。它非常大且笨重，底部配有轮子。顶部的橡胶手柄既可以在设备离开水面时方便在池边移动，又能在设备浸入水中时将其固定在池壁上。（该系统适用于地下泳池和地上泳池。）

The second piece of the kit is effectively an enormous battery with a few simple controls onboard. Three different battery sizes are available, each one offering more wattage and more power than the last. I received the top-level battery, denoted the X Pro 10, which weighs 26 pounds on its own and is rated for a whopping 60 amp-hours (Ah) of capacity. That provides a maximum running time of 10 hours—albeit on the device’s slowest setting. (Two lower-capacity models are available with 30 Ah and 15 Ah of capacity, respectively; note that these also have lower GPM throughput power in addition to shorter maximum running times.) 套件的第二部分实际上是一个巨大的电池，上面带有几个简单的控制装置。有三种不同规格的电池可供选择，每一款的功率和性能都比前一款更强。我收到的是顶级电池，型号为 X Pro 10，仅电池本身就重 26 磅，额定容量高达 60 安时 (Ah)。这提供了最长 10 小时的运行时间——当然是在设备的最慢档位下。（另有两种容量较低的型号，分别为 30 Ah 和 15 Ah；请注意，除了运行时间较短外，它们的每分钟加仑数 (GPM) 吞吐功率也较低。）

The two components connect via a thick cable; when not in use, this wraps around the jet unit’s handle for storage. The only other item of note is the inclusion of a metal tethering cable on the jet unit, designed to be wrapped around a pool ladder or another anchor fixed topside to prevent the jet from falling into the water (and taking the battery into the drink with it). In practical terms, I doubt many pools have a suitable anchor point. I was never able to use the tethering cable and, for what it’s worth, never felt any concern that the jet would slip and fall. 这两个组件通过一根粗电缆连接；不使用时，电缆可以缠绕在喷射装置的手柄上进行收纳。唯一值得注意的其他物品是喷射装置上包含的一根金属系留缆绳，旨在缠绕在泳池梯子或其他固定在岸上的锚点上，以防止喷射器掉入水中（并把电池也带进水里）。实际上，我怀疑很多泳池并没有合适的锚点。我从未能使用这根系留缆绳，但说实话，我也从未担心过喷射器会滑落。

Aside from charging the device (which can take up to seven hours), the only real setup required is adjusting the height of the jet in the water. iGarden suggests one of two settings: If the top of the jet is 2 to 4 inches below the water’s surface, the current is smoother and more stable, best for lap swimming. Alternately, you can set the top edge of the jet at or slightly above the water line, which creates a much bolder surface spray but less current—ideal for splashy playtime. The height is adjusted by a somewhat crude system of knobs and brackets attached to a movable frame on the backside of the device; the design is awkward but ultimately works well enough. 除了给设备充电（最多可能需要七个小时）外，唯一真正需要进行的设置就是调整喷射器在水中的高度。iGarden 建议采用两种设置之一：如果喷射器顶部位于水面以下 2 到 4 英寸处，水流会更平稳，最适合往返游泳。或者，你可以将喷射器的顶缘设置在水面或略高于水面的位置，这会产生更强的水花喷溅，但水流较小——非常适合戏水玩耍。高度是通过设备背面可移动框架上的一套略显粗糙的旋钮和支架系统来调节的；设计虽然笨拙，但最终效果还算不错。

Dial-a-Swim (游泳模式调节)

Operationally, the Swim Jet is simple—your main decision being at which power level you want to run the device. Four standard power levels are available through a button on top of the power pack, plus a turbo mode that runs the jet at its maximum speed—but only for five minutes. A final mode, coded “PF” on the battery pack’s display, is designed to mimic open water, cycling through various speeds to evoke the ebb and flow of the ocean. The only other real option is a timer that shuts down the jets after anywhere from 15 to 90 minutes. (In the iGarden app, which pairs via a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi connection, the same options are available but are considerably more intuitive to choose from.) 在操作上，Swim Jet 很简单——你主要需要决定的是以哪个功率档位运行设备。通过电源包顶部的按钮可以选择四个标准功率档位，外加一个涡轮模式，该模式以最大速度运行喷射器——但只能持续五分钟。最后一个模式在电池包显示屏上编码为“PF”，旨在模拟开放水域，通过循环切换各种速度来营造海洋潮汐起伏的感觉。另一个真正的选项是定时器，可以在 15 到 90 分钟后关闭喷射器。（在通过 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi 连接配对的 iGarden 应用程序中，可以使用相同的选项，但选择起来要直观得多。）

I did most of my testing with the Swim Jet in the below-water swimming mode rather than the above-water play mode, in large part the most part because it’s easier to quantify its performance this way. Also, my wife is a seasoned lap swimmer, which gave me the perfect guinea pig to determine how effective the Swim Jet was for a waterborne workout. 我大部分的测试都是在水下游泳模式下进行的，而不是水上玩耍模式，很大程度上是因为这样更容易量化其性能。此外，我的妻子是一位经验丰富的游泳者，这为我提供了一个完美的“小白鼠”，来确定 Swim Jet 在水上锻炼方面的效果如何。

I quickly found that power level 3 was the sweet spot for creating the perfect amount of resistance for vigorous swimming, though more leisurely swimmers might be able to get away with level 2. In the water, you quickly discover how the current level drops off the farther you get from the jet. At point blank, next to the wall, the current is far too strong to swim in place, but on the other end of the pool, more than 30 feet away, the flow isn’t even noticeable. At a distance of 5 to 10 feet, you’re in the sweet spot, able to swim in the current while remaining almost exactly in the same place. This can get a little boring over time, so eventually my wife decided to swim back and forth, letting the current push her. 我很快发现，3 档功率是为剧烈游泳创造完美阻力的最佳点，尽管更悠闲的游泳者可能用 2 档就足够了。在水中，你会很快发现水流强度会随着你远离喷射器而减弱。在紧贴池壁的近距离处，水流太强，无法原地游泳；但在 30 英尺外的泳池另一端，水流几乎感觉不到。在距离喷射器 5 到 10 英尺的地方，你处于最佳位置，既能逆流游泳，又能保持在几乎完全相同的位置。久而久之这可能会变得有点无聊，所以最终我妻子决定来回游动，顺着水流漂浮。